White House Officials to Help Break Ground on New Transitional Housing Facility for Homeless Female Veterans

Orlando, Fla. – Federal and local officials today broke ground on Operation Home Front, a new transitional housing facility, run by the Center for Drug-free Living, for homeless female veterans and their children in Cocoa, Florida.

Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP); Tammy Duckworth, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs; and Tina Tchen, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, provided remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony for Operation Home Front.

“Far too many brave women who served their country are returning home with physical, mental health, and substance abuse problems that impact their ability to maintain strong families,” said Director Kerlikowske. “Family-based treatment programs like Operation Home Front fulfill an important need in coordinating comprehensive services for mothers and their children. The families who will live here will receive an array of effective services, dignity, hope, and new opportunity.”

“In today’s military, women assume responsibilities and leadership roles that were not possible in the past,” said Assistant Secretary Duckworth. “When they return from the battlefield, we have a solemn duty to care for the needs of women Veterans and to understand the mental and physical wounds of war. The Center for Drug-Free Living will provide essential services for our Nation’s growing number of women Veterans and their families.”

“This facility is an excellent example of public and private partnerships all across the country that support the brave women who have served in our military,” said Deputy Assistant to the President Tina Tchen. “Operation Home Front will help meet an important need, and embodies this Administration’s commitment to healthier families and a stronger Nation.”

Funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Florida Department of Children and Families, Operation Home Front will be a $1,638,020 million, 8,486 sq. ft., transitional housing facility that will include seven units with two bedrooms per unit and common living and dining areas. The facility will provide housing and substance use/mental health disorder services for 28 homeless, female veterans and their children.

The Center for Drug-Free Living, Inc. is a comprehensive, behavioral health services organization. Its mission is to “Promote Healthy Responsible Lifestyles.” The Center has been serving Central Florida for more than 37 years, providing prevention, intervention and treatment to individuals and families coping with substance use and mental health disorders, juvenile delinquency, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and other behavioral health issues.